1 Lab no. 3 THYRISTORS AND TRIACS CONTROL GATE TRIGGER CIRCUITS 1. Introduction The thyristor is a power semiconductor device with the control terminal called grid or gate (G). The device name comes from the similarity of operation with the gas triode: thiratron transistor. Because the thyristors are mainly used in the controlled rectifier structures, the technical literature calls them as SCR (Semiconductor Controlled Rectifiers) devices. After the series manufacture start in 1957 until the ‘80s of the twentieth century the thyristor was the leader of power semiconductor devices with control electrode. Despite the fact that the thyristor is a half controlled device (through the gate terminal can be only turned on) this switch remains favourite in a wide range of applications because it is robust, can be easily controlled and can operates in high power structures at high voltages and currents with low power conduction losses. To operate, every thyristor require a drive (trigger, control) circuit that provides gate current pulses to induce the on-state. These pulses must have a certain amplitude and duration. The device remains latched in on-state until it is reverse biased. Thus, in forward biased conditions, after the turn-on process, the gate current can be interrupted. Thyristors can be found in various applications such as phase-controlled rectifiers, AC voltage variators, starters, static breakers, cycloconverters, etc. Depending on the requirements, are available on the market several types of thyristors: common thyristors (used in phase-controlled converters at low switching frequency, high voltages and currents), fast thyristors (with a small blocking time), optical thyristors (light-activated through optical fibers), etc. A triac can be equivalent with two antiparallel connected thyristors. Thus, the control principles and the control circuits of the triacs are the same as those of the thyristors taking into consideration that the triacs are bidirectional devices (the current can flow in both directions through them). 2. The symbol and the semiconductor structure of the thyristors The thyristor symbol is similar with the diode symbol at which, besides the power terminals anode (A) and cathode (K), a grid terminal (G) is added - Fig.3.1 (a). The current through the thyristor Th, denoted by iTh in figure, flows only in one Author: Ph.D.eng. Mihai Albu 2 „Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Power Electronics Laboratory direction from the anode to the cathode if the power device is forward biased. Voltage drop across the thyristor, the anode-cathode voltage, may be noted by vTh or vAK. The semiconductor structure of a thyristors, shown in Fig.3.1(b), contains four alternating layers: p-n-p-n. To obtain this “silicon wafer”, first are generated by diffusion the two p layers at the ends of a flat silicon cylinder, lightly doped with pentavalent atoms (n- type). By metallization of the anode surface with aluminium atoms, the heavy doped p+ layer is obtained in order to reduce the contact resistance between semiconductor chip and the anode metal disc shown in figure. The cathode applied to the other end of the silicon cylinder is made as a metal ring that surrounds + the electrode grid. The cathode ring is applied over a circular area of n type obtained by alloying the gate layer with the electron donor metals. Anode Metal disc (Al) + A + p (1019/cm3 ) p (1017/cm3 ) 40÷60µm Th iTh vTh - (1014/cm3 ) Dependent on the n breakdown voltages G p (1017/cm3 ) 50÷100µm + K - n 1019/cm3 10÷20µm Metal ring Gate Cathode (a) (b) Fig. 3.1 The symbol (a) and the semiconductor structure (b) of a thyristor. The ratio between the diameter and height of the semiconductor cylinder (chip) is very high. The thickness of the layers, especially of the n- layer that has the roll of a drift region, depends on the operating voltages for which the thyristor was made. No matter how great are these voltages, the overall height of the chip shown in Fig.3.1 (b) is of the order of millimetres. Unlike the height, the diameter of the silicon cylinder depends on the maximum current that can flows through the thyristor. In the case of thyristors made for thousands of amperes the diameter can reach values of the order (8÷10) cm. These devices have a special shape for the grid (stellar shape) to increase the turn-on speed. The silicon chip is closed in a capsule whose roll is to give mechanical resistance and protection for the device, to sustain the terminals and to assure the heat transfer between the chip and the radiator. The capsule part that can be mounted on the radiator can be connected to any of two power terminals. Thus, can be Lab no.3: Thyristors and triacs control. Gate trigger circuits 3 manufactured thyristors, either with the cathode, either with the anode connected to the radiator. This option helps a lot in the manufacture process of the thyristors bridge structures. 3. The equivalent circuit and volt-ampere static characteristics To understand the operating mode of a thyristor is very useful to find an equivalent circuit that can approximate the behaviour of this device, both in static and dynamic states. Fig.3.2 shows the imaginative operations made on the thyristor semiconductor structure to obtain the equivalent circuit. In Fig.3.2(a) is presented a simplified structure of a thyristor with the four semiconductor layers p1–n1–p2–n2 separated by three junctions J1, J2 and J3. If the median layers n1 and p2 are imaginary splitted, as shown in Fig.3.2(b), without lost the electrical connection, two distinct structure are obtained, the first p1–n1–p2 corresponds to a pnp bipolar junction transistor (BJT) and the second n1–p2–n2 corresponds to a npn type BJT. By replacing these structures with the BJT symbols results the equivalent circuit of a thyristor, shown in Fig.3.2(c). Based on this scheme one can deduce the static characteristics of the power device and it can be explaining the turn-on process initiated through the gate terminal (by the gate pulse current). A A + A IB1 p1 p1 T J1 J1 1 n (n-) n 1 n1 1 IC1 IC2 G J2 G J2 p p2 p2 2 G T J3 J3 2 IG n2 n2 IB2 K K - K (a) (b) (c) Fig. 3.2 The equivalent circuit deduction starting from the thyristor semiconductor structure. When a negative voltage is applied on the thyristor (uTh < 0) the equivalent transistors T1 and T2 are reverse biased and the current through these devices can be considered zero. In fact, there appears a very low leakage current of the microampere order. If the reverse voltage exceeds the VBR (Reverse Breakdown Voltage) value, an Author: Ph.D.eng. Mihai Albu 4 „Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Power Electronics Laboratory important reverse current appear. This current increase steeply to a value only limited by the external circuit – see Fig.3.3. To avoid such situations in a certain application, the thyristors are chosen according to the Maximum Repetitive Reverse Voltage VRRM (catalogue parameter), less than the breakdown voltage (VRRM <VBR). In the case of a forward bias (uTh > 0) and in the absence of the control signal the thyristor remain in off-state because the two equivalent transistors can not be turned on. Thus, the operating point is placed on the forward blocking characteristic where the power device can sustain forward voltages under the Breakover Voltage (VBO) value – see Fig.3.3(a). Usually, from the manufacturing process, it results a breakdown voltage approximately equal with the reverse breakdown voltage (UBR ≈ UBO). The thyristor conduction mode may be induced if one of two equivalent transistors is turned on. The base currents IB1 and IB2 of the transistors T1 and T2 can flow if the complementary transistor is in on-state. It is sufficient to apply a short current pulse between the gate and cathode terminals (iG >0) to bring the transistor T2 in on-state that initiates an avalanche turn-on process of the entire power device. Thus, after the transistor T2 is turned on the collector current IC2 appear, which is, in fact, the base current of the T1 transistor ( I B1 = I C2 ). Consequently, the transistor T1 is also turned on and its collector current IC1 increases even more the base current of the T2 transistor. The growth of the IB2 current will lead to the increase of the collector current IC2 and so on. There is a positive reaction illustrated in Fig.3.3(a) by the translations of the operating point from the forward blocking characteristic to the forward conduction characteristic. iTh iTh Forward conduction Idealized conduction Reverse breakdown characteristic characteristic voltage Reverse blocking Turn-on iG2 >iG1 characteristic IH u u VBR Th Th VH VBO Forward blocking characteristic Breakover voltage (a) (b) Fig. 3.3 (a) Real i-v characteristics; (b) Idealized i-v characteristics of the thyristors. Then the thyristor current (anode current) reach a threshold value: iTh =IH (holding current – catalogue parameter) the gate current (iG) can be removed. Lab no.3: Thyristors and triacs control. Gate trigger circuits 5 Therefore, the control signal of the thyristors appears as a short pulse current. To accelerate the turn-on process this pulse can have, in the first moment, a greater amplitude. Then the amplitude must decrease to a value supported by the gate-cathode junction in a continuous mode. In forward blocking state and in reverse blocking state the leakage current through thyristor can be approximate to be zero. Thus, it is obtained the two characteristics specified of a ideal switch: the forward and the reverse blocking characteristics, shown in Fig.3.3(b).